Ahem August was a very fruitful month. Raspberries and blackberries, plums and greengages, even rosehips and sloes suddenly made a massive and early appearance in the hedges and byways along which I walk Max. There were reports from Burgess Hill of previously uncharted bushes within hedges suddenly producing rare and delicious plums. August was also […]
Author Archives: Lionel Stanbrook
2026 Ahem
PEAGE PINTXOS BANISTER: May 2026
Ahem, I travelled down to La Hune with Jurrat and Jessie in a well-loaded car [...]
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01
Jun
Jun
2026 Ahem
MUSKETS SHRIFT RAPT: April 2026
Ahem Alli and I were up and early on Good Friday to be driven with [...]
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30
Apr
Apr
Professional Writing Writing
They awoke…
The hidden past of the bisexual pronoun Those of all political and cultural persuasions [...]
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2026 Ahem
BABY FAIRYLAND TWITTEN: March 2026
Ahem I was about to open a pile of birthday cards when I was encouraged [...]
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30
Mar
Mar
2026 Ahem
QUOTIDIAN HAMMERHEAD HIPPO: February 2026
Ahem Rain and colder weather in southern England dominated the first few days of the [...]
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02
Mar
Mar
01
Aug
Aug
Ahem A proper summer seemed to unfold and express itself haltingly from the first few days of the month, providing some of the hottest days on record in England. The whole country seems to change character for about a month sometime around the beginning of July, when the year turns back on the home straight. […]
29
Jun
Jun
Ahem The weather, previously sunny, had suddenly turned windy and wet as I took the coach for Heathrow to get the flight to Malawi. Was this a harbinger of the following fortnight? Well yes, it was. At the Toleza farm it was cool, windy, and cloudy enough to merit the lighting of a fire in […]
31
May
May
Ahem At the very end of April, I drove to La Hune, our house in France, via Newhaven, Dieppe, and an overnight stay in the Chateau du Plessis near Argentan, where the French owner told me that the previous day’s guest had been the Duke of Westminster. I didn’t ask if the Duke successfully paid […]
03
May
May
Ahem Just before the beginning of the month I flew to Malaga from where I took a bus to Marbella. I put my small but heavy bag into a property deposit box at the bus station before walking slowly down towards the Mediterranean coast, glittering under a perfect blue sky. I was excited but apprehensive […]
30
Mar
Mar
Ahem The Malawi weather improved considerably in the first week and by the time of our departure the farm was experiencing some classic crop-growing weather: a couple of hours of determined rain and several hours of sun each day. On our last night we finally managed to witness a sundowner – watching the sun go […]
28
Feb
Feb
Ahem For just over a year, I have been enjoying the curious experience of our new and independent life in a small town in England. My only other similar experience is of Hassocks when our children were growing up. Uckfield suits us both very well. The key amenities for those of retiring age are in […]
02
Feb
Feb
Ahem Jessie and Jurrat came back from their stay in Luxembourg with Uncle Tank and Auntie Susie, and retook ownership of Jaxon, whom we delivered safe and sound after his five-day stay with us. Jaxon was an entertaining guest. His self-absorption is highly amusing whereas in humans it might become irritating. Alli had been urgently […]
31
Dec
Dec
Ahem Our Christmas celebrations are different to those of ten and more years ago. Now in our third age, we no longer go to pantomimes but to shows that would once have been fringe but are now mainstream, while the old mainstream is now nostalgia. This year I went with Alli, Jessie, Ella, and Sam […]
01
Dec
Dec
Ahem November’s weather became a lugubrious national talking point with deified weather presenters being lambasted for reporting what amounted to ‘gloomy’ weather. Grey clouds weighed down on southern England like the cover on a pressure cooker, but I wasn’t complaining. However, I did re-read Baudelaire’s Spleen, possibly the greatest poem ever on the multifarious subject […]